Our scheduled football weekend in Europe’s top 5 leagues:
SPANISH LA LIGA – Round 26
Feb 25
Levante vs Elche
Feb 26
Mallorca vs Valencia
Getafe vs Alaves
Rayo Vallecano vs Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid vs Celta Vigo
Feb 27
Villarreal vs Espanyol
Sevilla vs Real Betis
Real Sociedad vs Osasuna
Barcelona vs Athletic Club
Feb 28.
Granada vs Cadiz
Real Madrid’s six-point lead will be kept with a win against a Rayo Vallecano side that was ‘1-0’ winners the last time they played at home against Real Madrid.
SEVILLA VS REAL BETIS (SEVILLE DERBY) : Sevilla and Real Betis are both trying to keep up with the pace of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish La Liga standings, while also escaping a Barcelona team that has been picking up form and results in recent weeks. Even though their most recent meeting saw Real Betis knock out Sevilla from the Copa del Rey, it’s has been Sevilla on the winning end of the score of their league meetings since 2018.
Barcelona will host Athletic Club for the points to close in on the top three. The reverse fixture was a draw [1-1] but the most recent meeting saw Athletic Club win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey Round of 16.
ITALIAN SERIE A – Round 27
Feb 25.
AC Milan vs Udinese
Genoa vs Inter Milan
Feb 26.
Salernitana vs Bologna
Empoli vs Juventus
Sassuolo vs Fiorentina
Feb 27.
Torino vs Cagliari
Hellas Verona vs Venezia
Spezia vs Roma
Lazio vs Napoli
Feb 28.
Atalanta vs Sampdoria
The last round ended with the Milan clubs (AC Milan and Inter Milan), the Turin clubs (Juventus and Torino), and the Rome clubs (Roma and Lazio) dropping points.
AC Milan dropped points (away) against bottom tabled Salernitana but Inter Milan did ‘better’ by losing at home to Sassuolo. Juventus and Torino shared the points in the Turin derby, Roma avoided defeat at home to Hellas Verona, while Lazio did the same away against Udinese.
The value of Inter Milan’s game in hand will take a nosedive if they don’t get a victory at Genoa.
Since their 6-2 away win against Udinese, Atalanta has picked up three points from a possible 15. Atalanta having no win from their last five league matches has helped Juventus to have a comfortable stay in the top four. Atalanta is scheduled to play in the closing match of the round against Sampdoria.
Steady progress for Salernitana. 3 draws in a row. Next up is Bologna.
GERMAN BUNDESLIGA – Round 24
Feb 25.
Hoffenheim vs Stuttgart
Feb 26.
Leverkusen vs Arminia Bielefeld
Monchengladbach vs Wolfsburg
Freiburg vs Hertha Berlin
Greuther Furth vs FC Koh
Union Berlin vs Mainz
Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich
Feb 27.
Bochum vs RB Leipzig
Augsburg vs Dortmund
A Leverkusen defeat at Mainz has allowed the chasing pack to close in on 3rd place. The gap in points has been reduced to 4 points after RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, and Freiburg picked up victories from their fixtures.
LEVERKUSEN will need a win against Arminia Bielefeld to keep the third place from being under further threat. RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, and Freiburg all are all on 37 points.
Hoffenheim will be searching for a third Bundesliga win in a row when they face a Stuttgart side that ended a run of four defeats through a draw against Bochum in the last round.
Bochum host RB Leipzig. If Bochum could beat Bayern Munich 4-2, then no team is safe in Bochum.
FRANKFURT vs BAYERN MUNICH: It was a 2-1 win for Frankfurt in the reverse fixture but Bayern Munich can only guarantee to keep their six-point lead in the title race with a win at Frankfurt.
AUGSBURG vs DORTMUND: Augsburg will be staring at a third league defeat when they host a Dortmund side that will be looking for the points from a win to keep up/or close in on Bayern Munich at the top of the league table.
FRENCH LIGUE 1 – Round 26
Feb 25.
Montpellier vs Rennes
Feb 26.
Strasbourg vs Nice
Paris St. Germain vs Saint-Etienne
Feb 27.
Monaco vs Reims
Angers vs Lens
Brest vs Lorient
Clermont vs Bordeaux
Metz vs Nantes
Troyes vs Marseille
Lyon vs Lille
In the last round, Paris St. Germain dropped points in a 3-1 defeat at Nantes but Marseille didn’t get the needed victory to reduce the 13-point gap at the top of the French Ligue 1 standings. Marseille also suffered a shock defeat to Clermont Foot.
PSG vs Saint-Etienne: To get back on the winning track, Paris St. Germain will need to get a victory against a Saint-Etienne side that is on their best run of results all season. Saint-Etienne is unbeaten in their last 4 games; winning 3.
TROYES vs MARSEILLE: Marseille will be away against a Troyes side that has one win from the last nine league matches. It should be a quick fix for Marseille.
STRASBOURG VS NICE: While a win for Strasbourg allows them to take third place from Nice, a defeat can cost them fourth place if Rennes wins at Montpellier.
Nice can use a win to climb up to second place if Marseille drops points against Troyes.
MONACO vs REIMS: A win will be a nice addition for Monaco after their last two matches in the league finish in draws.
Troyes, Lorient, Metz, and Bordeaux occupy the bottom four positions in the league standings on 21 points each. Along with Saint-Etienne, they make up the list of clubs with fewer points than games played after 25 rounds of the season.
Troyes vs Marseille
Brest vs Lorient
Metz vs Nantes
Clermont vs Bordeaux
PREMIER LEAGUE – Round 27
“Win the next 12 league games and win the league.” This statement is true for both Manchester City and Liverpool.
After 26 rounds played of the English Premier League season, three points separate the top two.
Chelsea and Liverpool will be playing the EFL Cup final instead of their league matches.
To make up for their defeat to Tottenham in the last round and keep their advantage in the title race, Manchester City will go to Liverpool for a win from Everton.
Leeds and Tottenham will meet with both teams desperately in need a win to boost morale.
Feb 25.
Southampton vs Norwich City
Feb 26.
Leeds vs Tottenham
Brentford vs Newcastle
Brighton vs Aston Villa
Crystal Palace vs Burnley
Manchester United vs Watford
Everton vs Manchester City
Feb 27.
West Ham vs Wolves
EFL CUP FINAL
Sun Feb 27
Chelsea vs Liverpool
It has been 10 years since Liverpool won this title, and 7 years since Chelsea got their hands on it. Liverpool is going for a record 9th title, while Chelsea goes for 6th.
Tuchel’s Chelsea or Klopp’s Liverpool will be celebrating a title win this Sunday.
Both teams have lost the EFL Cup final against Manchester City in recent years.
Liverpool might be showing signs of being the stronger team but it is Chelsea that has shown the signs of winning finals.
For the first time since 2016, the Cup winner will not be from Manchester.
For the first time since 2018, there will be a new winner of the EFL Cup other than Manchester City.
